"It doesn't represent Aussie pigs, it represents a vegetarian website against animal farming, which we think is crazy."

But last week the pork industry also lost that case, and Animal Liberation retained ownership of the domain name.

Some politicians want Australia to follow the lead of some American states like Kansas, Montana and North Dakota, which have made it illegal for activists to film farm animals.

Activists can also be forced to hand over images of animal cruelty to authorities within 48 hours of being filmed.

In Australia, Liberal Senator Chris Back is leading the push to get similar laws enacted here.

"Anybody who comes into the possession of information in this case which may be leading towards animal cruelty, anybody in my view should have to present that material as quickly as possible to relevant authorities," he said.

"And indeed the question should be asked if they are unwilling to do so and withhold that information for days or weeks or months, then I would expect the media and the wider community to be asking why they have withheld that information."

Welfare group says industry 'being brought to its knees'

Mr Pearson says that is an attempt to censor all the material and stop the images being published on the internet.

"My view is that it will quickly fall over, and it will be another tactic that the pig industry [uses] through a court system that is doomed to fail," he said.

"But we are not surprised because all these are measures of an industry that is desperate and being brought to its knees.

We are not surprised because all these are measures of an industry that is desperate and being brought to its knees.

Animal Liberation executive director Mark Pearson

"And that being brought to its knees is their own doing because they are not waking up and seeing what's going on and moving in the right direction to do the right thing by these animals."

The Australian pork industry has agreed to phase out the use of sow stalls by 2017, but Mr Spencer says if animal rights groups damage the local industry, pork will be imported from countries with far lower animal welfare standards.

"If these organisations really cared about pig welfare they would be standing side by side with the industry, especially considering that nearly half of all the pork that we consume in Australia is coming from overseas, where they use sow stalls and they have no intention of stopping using sow stalls," he said.

According to Mr Pearson, the supermarket giants - Coles and Woolworths - are putting pressure on the pork industry to raise animal welfare standards, but he says that farmers are moving too slow.

"They are certainly digging their heels in and resisting... But it will be to their own detriment," he said.

"Because their products will end up staying in their refrigerators and shelves on the piggery or abattoir and the retailers who have enormous power in these situations just won't buy it."